All I got was a responding snort in return.
Finishing up my morning routine, I shut off the running faucet and headed back into my bedroom with my phone in hand. I tossed it onto the bed and grabbed my duffle, lifting the thing up onto the bed with a soft grunt.
I was curious to see how today would go. Mainly with how Blake was going to solve this little oopsie of mine. To his credit, he’d proven me wrong with my knee-jerk assumptions and had taken the problem—if you could even call it that—in stride. Whatever poor staff member he was going to be forcing onto this hike with me today, I’d pray for them.
If only because I was a beast at cardio.
“So, what wilderness adventure are you going on today?” Silas asked.
“Wow, he’s actually curious?”
“I know. Crazy that I care.”
Sometimes it was nice to have the reassurance, as stupid as it was to search for in the friends I’d had for more than a decade at this point. Against my better nature, there was still a small child-like part of me that craved praise, craved the positive attentionI got from outside sources. I’d gone into finance for that specific reason, making sure that honing my craft would give me the end result I needed.
The paycheck was just an added bonus. What I actually wanted was that slap on the back and a good old ‘atta boy.
Pathologize that fucked up part of me as much as needed—my ID and my ego were on the best of terms. There was hardly anything I got embarrassed over anymore.
“I’m hiking to a waterfall today.” Laying my clothes out flat on the bed, I turned to where I’d set my pair of sneakers and brand new hiking boots against the wall on the side facing the doorway.
The problem with last minute packing was now I was running into the fun little issue of having not broken in my footwear, a major misstep on my part. I knew better than to rawdog a three-hour hike and the uneven terrain that came with it.
Lucky me, I brought a fuck ton of socks.
“A waterfall?” He sounded skeptical. “Send a picture in the group chat.”
“I will if I have service, but no promises.”
The alarm on my phone chimed twice.
Shit.
I was late.
“Gotta go. I’ll text you when I get back to camp.”
Right as my thumb hovered over the ‘end call’ icon, Silas shot out a quick, “Don’t get lost picking daisies.”
I rolled my eyes before tossing my phone again. He’d eat his words. And I couldn’t wait to be the one to force feed the shit to him with a smile on my face.
I packed lightly,throwing a small bag over my shoulders with two water bottles I’d stolen from the fridge, along with a spare change of clothes on the off chance that this gorgeous sunny day somehow turned into a downpour.
The worst part wouldn’t be trying to trudge down a hiking trail with the slippery mud under my feet, but having to do it on top of being drenched to the bone in wet clothes. My second biggestpet peeve.
Number one?
Wet socks.
That shit drove me insane. There was nothing worse than a squelching shoe.
It didn’t take me long to get from my cabin to the meet up spot, a small overlook right on the camp’s lake. It mirrored the size of the one we had back in Ellington Heights that separated us from Edgewood, with crystal clear waters reflecting the blue skies above. There were only a few clouds dotting the horizon—and thankfully, all of them were white and fluffy.
“There he is,” someone said when I slowed my jog.
“Uh oh. Don’t tell me I’mthatfashionably late.” I slipped my thumbs under the straps of my bag, pulling just enough to alleviate some of the weight off my lower back.
Someone stepped away from the group to move closer to me—Blake, I realized once he slipped between a couple. He waved toward the front of the group, catching the attention of one of the staff members and shooting her a thumbs up to start moving our group onto the trailhead.
